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Hardcover Books

Grandville is back for more badgering!

The second hardcover, full-color graphic novel in the  Grandville series is due out this coming October 20th, once again written and illustrated by Bryan Talbot. We’ll let the publisher, Dark Horse Comics, describe it: “Convicted psychotic killer and extremist fanatic Edward ‘Mad Dog’ Mastock violently escapes the guillotine’s blade in the Tower of London to once again terrorize the Socialist Republic of Britain. But dogging Mastock’s bloody footsteps is his longtime adversary and nemesis, Detective Inspector Archie LeBrock, at odds with Scotland Yard and intent on bringing Mastock’s horrific murder spree to an end, once and for all. Aided by his friend and colleague Detective Roderick Ratzi, LeBrock follows the trail of carnage to Paris, otherwise known as Grandville, the largest city in a world dominated by the French Empire and the prime target of Mastock’s sadistic terrorism. Can LeBrock capture the Mad Dog before he can mete out his final vengeance, or will LeBrock’s own quest for redemption be dragged to ground by the demons of his past? The badger is back! Set three weeks after the finale of GrandvilleBryan Talbot’s critically acclaimed steampunk graphic novel–Grandville Mon Amour explores an alternate art-nouveau world populated by intelligent animals, a human underclass, robot automatons, and advanced steam technology that power everything from hansom cabs to iron flying machines.”

image c. 2010 Dark Horse Comics

Dragon Puncher

James Kochalka (creator of Monkey vs. Robot and other strangeness) is back with a new full-color, hardcover graphic novel from Top Shelf Productions. Dragon Puncher Volume 1 gives us the adventures of, well, Dragon Puncher: “A cute but ruthless kitty in an armored battle suit, dedicated to defeating dangerous dragons wherever they may be. The Dragon Puncher and his would-be sidekick Spoony-E (a fuzzy little fellow armed with a wooden spoon) confront a gigantic, drooling dragon and have a ridiculous, hilarious brawl”. You heard ’em. The artwork combines Kolchalka’s well-known funny animal style with humorous photography for a “goofy backyard adventure”.

Berona’s War: The Field Guide

And now for something rather different: Cute and cuddly wars! Berona’s War: The Field Guide comes to us from the minds of Jesse Labbe and Anthony Coffey. According to Previews it’s “an epic tale of two adorable, fur-covered races doomed by their own escalating violence”. Whew. The Ele-Alta and the Cropones are soft and fuzzy on the outside, but hard as nails on the inside. When both tribes lay claim to Berona Island’s most valuable real estate — a land known as Amity — the result can only be bloody war. This full-color hardcover graphic novel is available now from Archaia Comics. This winter, look for the sequel, Berona’s War: Fight for Amity. And check this out for a preview of the whole series.

Krazy Kat in Kolor

Those with an interest in comic strip history should of course be familar with the adventures of Ignatz Mouse and Krazy Kat, written and illustrated by George Herriman in the early 20th century. Now Sunday Press Books brings us Krazy Kat: A Celebration of Sundays, coming this June in Hardcover. Collecting the greatest Krazy Kat Sunday pages, for the first time in their original size and colors, just in time for Krazy Kat’s 100th birthday. The book also includes a sampling of Herriman’s pre-Krazy works, as well as contributions by Michael Tisserand (Gambit Weekly) and Art Spiegelman (Maus). Here’s more information on the book at Westfield Comics.

Krazy Kat characters c. 2010 Wikipedia

Krazy Kat characters c. 2010 Wikipedia

Boom-ing Business

Yet more stuff to watch upcoming from Boom! Studios: First off, welcome the return of the Duck Knight!  Darkwing Duck returns, after many requests sent in to Boom! In this new full-color comic series is (written by Ian Brill and drawn by James Silvani) the terror that flaps in the night has been missing for more than a year… But when a nefarious evil plan threatens the city of St. Canard, it might be time to get dangerous again! Find out more in June. Also this summer, Boom! is presenting the graphic novel adaptation of Tim Burton’s oh-so-popular Alice in Wonderland film. The movie comes to DVD in August,  but the graphic novel (adapted by Alessandro Ferrari and illustrated by Massimiliano Narcisco) comes this June, both in softcover and a limited-edition hardcover that includes a stitched-in cloth bookmark.

More Classic Funny Animals

Felix the Cat is, of course, one of the classic funny animals from both comic strips and early animation. Now IDW is collecting together the former in Felix the Cat: The Great Comic Book Tails (coming in hardcover this June). Felix’s original artist, Otto Messmer, wrote and drew the bulk of Felix comic strips and comic book stories for Dell and Harvey during comic books’ “Golden Age”. Now IDW presents more than 200 pages of full-color comics, showcasing the magical cat’s journeys on his flying carpet to surreal lands, past times, and Toy Land. Comic historian Craig Yoe edited the collection and wrote the behind-the-scenes introduction.

The Greatest Looney Tunes?

No less than animation historian Jerry Beck has assembled The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons, coming this June in hardcover from Insight Editions. How? He polled thousands of animation fans, historians, and animators to gather their thoughts and favorites… and here are the results. From the press release: “Evaluated on their comedic brilliance, innovative animation, historical significance, and creative merit, cartoon historian Jerry Beck and the Cartoon Brew team of animation experts reveal the amusing anecdotes and secret origins behind such classics as What’s Opera, Doc?, One Froggy Evening, and Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century. Featuring more than 300 pieces of original art from private collectors and the Warner Bros. archives, The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons settles the debate on the best of the best, and poses a new question: Is your favorite one of the greatest?” The introduction was written by movie critic (and famous animation fan) Leonard Maltin.

B. B. Wolf and the 3 LP’s

Rich Koslowski (creator of the Ursa Major-nominated graphic novel Three Fingers) has returned with writer J.D. Arnold to bring us B.B. Wolf and the 3 Lp’s, a new black & white hardcover graphic novel coming this May from Top Shelf. Here’s the press release from Amazon.com: “B.B.’s life seemed simple: farmer and family man by day, blues musician by night, and a drinker of fine spirits at any hour. But his fragile world comes crashing down when the LPs decide to take his land by any means possible. When all is lost, B.B. lashes out, setting into motion acts of revenge that only a big bad wolf could unleash. Set in the Mississippi Delta of the 1920s, B.B. Wolf & the 3 LP’s is a classic story of racism, murder, revenge, and music, all wrapped up in the clever re-telling of a timeless fairy tale.”

When Everyone (Literally) Was Doing Funny Animals!

How’s this for a long title: The Golden Collection of Klassic Krazy Kool Kids Komics. Whew! Here’s the publisher’s notes: “The first collection of its kind, this huge, luxurious volume lovingly collects the brilliant kids’ comics that such luminaries as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Frank Frazetta, Walt Kelly, Dr. Seuss, Syd Hoff, Jules Feiffer, George Carlson, John Stanley, Dan deCarlo, Sheldon Mayer, Carl Barks, and myriad other brilliant geniuses created during the heyday of kids comics in the 1940s, ’50s, and beyond. Astute comic book fans and their eager kids alike will love the funny and beautiful full-color stories of slap-stick superheroes, fantastic fairy tales, and awesome anthropomorphic animals.” We definitely want to check out the awesome anthropomorphic  animals! Especially with a group like that creating them! This new hardcover full-color collection was edited by Craig Yoe, and it features an introduction by children’s author Mo Willems. It’s coming out from Idea & Design Works at the end of April.